Combined circuit-breaker and switch.



COMBINED CIRCUIT BREAKER AND SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED III/III. 4. I9I5.

Ilz/76.

WITNESS/55 gli? Mwlm Patented Nov. 11, 1916.

[ll/MVIII/lilll1l/1111111110111lll/lll 11111111111111111110:VIII/lillaVII/IlluWill/Ill llllllll/IllllJ/lllnrulflllllfllllllllllmvll/ll l Lvl/EN TOR M14/wf @l Aff/away FRANK O. HARTMAN,

OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

COMBINED CIRCUIT-BREAKER AND SWITCH.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916..

Application led March 4, 1915. Serial No. 12,190.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK O. HRTMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ghio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Circuit-Breakers and Switches, fof which the following is a specication.- l

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in combined circuit breaker and switch, and the object of the invention is to pro-videv a circuit breakenand switch or cut-out especially adapted for automobile use, which will automatically open the circuit upon the occurrence of a predetermined overload, and which at the.

same time will take the place of the usual lighting switch for closing or opening the circuit manually.

The electrical circuits of an automobile are peculiarly liable to grounds or short circuits,

due to the fact, as an example, that the insulation of the wires frequently becomes worn oli' at a. point where they are in contact with the metal work of the car. There are numerous other causes of grounds which require some protective device for preventing drain of the battery but the above cited iiistance will serve for general purposes; especially is this true of what are known as single wire or grounded systems, in which the frame of the car is used for the return circuit. Tn a system of the type just mentioned if any of the electrical wires become grounded, itA will affect all of the electrical circuits, wherefore, fuses are now generally used to protect the battery against these accidental grounds. These fuses, however, are inconvenient to replace. The fuse block is not always readily accessible nor are new fuses always available, so that often when a fuse blowsa piece of heavy wire is inserted in place of the same with the result that the battery is without protection on that particular circuit.

The present device takes the place of the fuse and aords more positive protection to the battery than the fuse, because should the switch be closed while the ground continues it will instantly reopen the circuit and will continue to reopen the circuit as often'as it is manually closed, or until the ground is broken.

While automatic circuit breakers are well known in the electrical art, yet the construction of such a device for automobile use involves peculiar problems, owing to the vibration of the car. The means used in locking the switch in closed position must be such that whilevit will open instantly should the circuit exceed the predetermined value, still there must be no liability of opening accidentally from jarring or vibration of the car. These features will be more fully pointed out in the following description of my device.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention on the line X-X of Fig. 9; and Fig. 2 is a similar view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the parts being shown'in down position.

The device consists of a steel containing case l, onl the rear side of which is mounted a platev 2 made of any suitable insulating material. R-iveted or otherwise appropriately secured atone end to the plate 2 is the springv Contact 3, the free end portion of whichl has an inclined part and an extremity 4f which engages the iXed contact 5. Suitably secured to the Xed contact 5 is a plate 6 forming one 'of the terminals of the switch. An operating member or lever Z is pivoted to the containing case by the pin 8 and is limited in its downward movement by engagement with a stop pin 9 that passes .through the sides of containing case 1, the stop pin 9 being adapted to hold lever 7 at its dead center position when the switch is closed. s

The upper end' of the lever 7 carries a pin 10 upon the ends of which rollers 11 and 12, formed of insulating material, are journaled, a vertical link 13 beingpivote'dupon the pin 10 and depending therefrom. The lower end of the link 13 is slotted at 11i and receives a pin 15 in said slot, the pin being connected to a reciprocating core or armature 16, which is bifurcated at 17 for the reception of the lower end of the link 14.

Riveted at 18, or otherwise appropriately secured in rigid connection with the lower end or bottom of oase 1, is the fixed core or armature 19,v which latter, has a socket 2O formed on its inner end, the socket 20 con- :ronting a similar socket 21 on the inner end of the reciprocating core 16.

A coil spring 22 seats at its ends in the sockets 20 and 21 and is utilized to normally sustain the core 16 in the position shown in Fig. 1 in which the pin 15 of core 16 is engaged with the bottom end wall that the slot 14 of link 13 provides, whereby the movable core 16 is held against vibration. The core 16 reciprocates orslides in a solenoid 23 in which latter the core 19 is mounted, the solenoid having a coil of wire with a current carrying capacity suitable for the circuit to be protected. One end of the solenoid 23 is attached at 24 to the ixed end of contact 3 while its other end is attached at 25 to a by the position of lever 7 and the upward thrust of coiled spring 22. -On'closing the switch the inner end of the levery 7 moves upwardly against ixed stop 9, which is located so that lever 7 will stop on dead center. The insulated rollers 11 and 12 of lever -7 ride up the inclined face of contact 3 forctact 5 with which it engages with a sliding or wiping action or eEect. Movable core 16 attached to lever 7 by link 13 moves upwardly with lever 7, the pin 15lv being maintained against the upper end of the slot 14 contact 3, when the hand lever is in switch closing position, presses upon the rollers 11 and 12 in line with their axis and with the pivot of the lever, so that said contact 3 operates in a measure to hold the lever in set or switch closing position, and hence to an appreciable degree will resist the initial or starting movement of the lever in the opening direction whether manually or under the influence of the Solenoid.

What is claimed is:

1. In a switch, a solenoid including a reciprocating core having a pin, a link slotted at its lower end and receiving the pin in its said slot, a pivoted hand lever connected to the link, rollers on the upper end of the lever, means to limit the upward movement of the link, a spring contact having a beveled face that is engageable with the rollers; said spring contact normally holding the rollers in engagement with the stop pin ing the end 4 inward against the fixed conin link 13 by the pressure of the coil spring 22. Starting at terminal 26` the current passes through the solenoid coil to contact 3 and from thence to ixed contact 4 and to the terminal 6.

Assuming the occurrence of a flow of current above the predetermined value, the core 16 moves downwardly into solenoid 23 against the tension of the coil spring 22 until 15 strikes against the lower end of the slot 14 in link 13 against which it Vstrikes with a hammer blow, moving lever l7 from its dead center position due to the fact that the overload has given suiicient strength to the solenoid to cause the latter to attract core 16. The contact 3 being held under tension against fixed contact 5 by lever 7 and insulating rollers 11 and 12 will, as soon as core 16 starts on its downward movement, assist in moving the lever 7 beyond dead center, thus effecting opening of the switch with a swift, positive motion.

It is to be particularly noted that spring whereby upon occurrence of an overload the solenoid will attract the core against the tension of the spring contact, thereby moving the lever from engagement with the stop pin.

2. In a switch, a solenoid including a reciprocating core having an upwardly extending projection, spring means to urge the core upwardly, a lever, rollers carried by the lever, a spring contact to be engaged by the rollers and yieldingly exerting a pressure against the rollers to hold the lever in its upper position, means connecting the lever and core, said means permitting a limited free movement of the lever and core.

3, In a switch, a yielding spring contact, a lever having rollers engaged with the contact, a link connected to the lever, a spring pressed core, means to connect the link to the core, and a coil for attracting the core.

4. In a switch, a spring contact, a lever having rollers engaged with'the contact, a link connected to the lever, connected to the link, a solenoid for attracting the core, the spring contact normally eX- erting a pressure against'the rollers.

5. In an electrical switch, a spring contact having an inclined face, a pivoted lever for manually operating the switch, insulating rollers attached to the end of said lever and engaging said inclined face, a link attached to said lever, a solenoid, a core for the solenoid controlling said link and operating to open the switch when the current flowing through the solenoid exceeds a predetermined value.

6. An electrical switch comprising a steel containing case, an insulating base attached thereto for mounting the contacts and terminals, a spring contact attached at one end to said base and having an inclined face, an` operating lever pivoted to said containing case, insulating rollers mounted on one end of said lever and adapted to engage the ina core pivotally clined face of said spring Contact, means of open the circuit upon the occurrence of a stopping the upward movement of said lever predetermined overload. v and rollers at a predetermined position, a In testimony whereof I affix my signature link attached to the end of said lever, a solein presence of a Witness.

noid, a core for the solenoid controlling said FRANK O. HARTMAN. link and adapted to pull said lever and l/Vitness:

rollers @if their dead center positions and JOHN H. Goss. 

